As the semester winds down, so does this season’s Gulf Coast Reading
Series at Brazos Bookstore.

Before the popular readings go on hiatus until fall, three doctoral
candidates from the University of Houston’s acclaimed Creative Writing Program
(CWP) will share their works. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. and is free to the
public. Featured authors are Rebecca Wadlinger, Ian Stansel and Zack Bean.

A graduate of the James A. Michener Center for Writers, Wadlinger writes
poetry and has translated the works of Norwegian poets Trine Ness and Mona Hørving. She is a managing editor for UH’s literary
journal Gulf Coast and resident writer for Writers in Schools. Wadlinger’s
works have appeared in Black Warrior Review, FIELD, Forklift Ohio, The
Kenyon Review and Mid-American Review.

Stansel’s fiction has been published in Ploughshares, Antioch Review,
Ecotone and New Stories from the Midwest. A graduate of Iowa Writers’ Workshop,
Stansel is the editor of Gulf Coast.

Fiction writer Zack Bean earned his master of fine arts from Penn State
and a bachelor of arts from the University of Arkansas. His stories have
appeared in Fiction and Cream City Review.

Founded in 1986 by Donald Barthelme and Philip Lopate, Gulf
Coast, A Journal of Literature and Fine Art spotlights the literary and visual
arts communities. The journal is a partnership between CWP, the Museum of
Fine Arts-Houston and the Menil Collection. It reviews submissions from artists
and writers from around the country. To learn more about the Gulf Coast journal
and the reading series, visit www.gulfcoastmag.org.

As part of UH's English department, CWP offers fiction and non-fiction writers
and poets intensive training in both creative writing and literary studies. It
offers two graduate degrees: the Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.
CWP's noted faculty includes award-winning authors and poets such as novelist
Antonya Nelson, poet and non-fiction writer Nick Flynn, graphic novelist Mat
Johnson and poet Tony Hoagland. To learn more about the program, visit www.class.uh.edu/cwp/.